As things currently stand, NFL teams are permitted to trade draft picks no further than three years into the future. That could soon change. 
During an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show (video link), ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported there will be a push from at least one team to extend the range for draft picks being dealt. Efforts will be made for selections as many as five years down the road to be allowed in trades, per Schefter. This will be something to monitor during next month’s league meetings.
Any expansion of trade flexibility would represent a shift in the direction of the NBA. That league’s rules allow for picks up to seven years in the future to be dealt. It should be kept in mind, though, that the Stepien Rule applies limits to how often teams can trade away a first-round pick. As a result of the rule, NBA teams cannot trade future first-round selections in consecutive years.
No such rule currently exists in the NFL. If things were to change this spring, however, a similar provision may receive consideration. Any widening of the range for draft capital to be traded – and its associated conditions – could of course lead to a change in roster-building strategy. Largely speaking, teams around the NFL attempt to remain competitive from one year to the next (due in large part to the requirement they spend close to the salary cap over any three-year period).
That approach could be altered to an extent if collecting large amounts of draft capital over an extended period became a viable option for rebuilding franchises. On the other hand, it would be interesting to see if contending teams became increasingly willing to part with picks in the distant future to facilitate win-now moves on a more frequent basis. Recent years have seen an uptick in trades leading up to the deadline, while blockbuster swaps in the offseason will no doubt remain possible in any given year no matter the circumstances.
The most recent case which saw an NFL team trade picks three years into the future was the Browns-Texans Deshaun Watson deal. Cleveland sent Houston a package highlighted by first-round selections in three consecutive years. The team would have been able to spread those picks out over a longer period (provided the Texans had been amenable to it, of course) had the range for pick trades been longer. When rule changes are considered during the spring, the potential for things to change on this front will be something to watch closely.
For reminders, last offseason we were told how great this QB draft class will be. Fernando and…..? I don’t even remember Fernando’s mentioned last year.
It’s next class that has all the QBs, this was always a weak class.
Nope bad idea
NBAs rules on trading picks should be a prime example why this is a bad idea
NBA had to implement an every other year rule cause it got so bad with teams trading picks away
I have a feeling they “compromise” at 4 years. a standard negotiating tactic to ask for what you want + 1
Bad bad move
Your team has a crappy season and the QB walks or gets injured and the team traded away 1st pick and the best draft picks are franchise QB
Imagine if Arch Manning comes out in a year when the team with the top pick really doesn’t need a quarterback. We could see new levels of insanity.
This sounds like fun, but then you look at the NBA and it is the most complicated trade mechanism in all of sports due to swaps, pick protections, 3 team trades, salary aprons and all that.
Giving a team the chance to mortgage 5 years of picks could be the start of something awful.
Even now the pick swaps in the NFL are annoying and a part of most deals it seems like.
Please no. The NBA is a joke with their trades. They’ve also turned their regular season into a joke. Don’t be the NBA.
NFL loves bad moves and ideas
Jerry Jones on line 1